Archive for the 'health' Category

This article from the International Herald Tribune argues that Chinese fish farmers face polluted waters. There are 10 million fish farmers in China who produce for both domestic and export markets. Much of Chinese fish export goes to Japan and East Asia, followed by USA and Europe. 70% of world farmed seafood comes from China, mostly grown inland. So much is the intensity of aquaculture along the coast of China, that not only fish farming pollutes fresh water sources and the surrounding land (a classical example of modern enclosures for the traditional peasantry and local communities — not discussed by this article) but fish farmers are polluting each other ponds. The pollutants of fish and shrimp exports are linked to cancer. Look at this video from The New York Times which pictures fish farmers working in their surrounding, and discusses the reasons why Chinese fish exports are polluted. The colour of the water in these video clips is not the most attractive! Also, check this slide show always from the New York Times for a visual ideaof the work involved in fish farming.

D. is a big man, proud of his leadership qualities, and proud of being able to kick the asses of shell and bp corporate directors . . .he takes us to Durban south, where he leaves, and breathe the shit coming out of the refineries, down there in front of the block of flat where we leave him after the toxic tour . . .refineries pouring shit that kids breathe, aunties breathe, mothers breathe, fathers breath . . .they build houses, I mean their houses, right on top of the ridge with a view to the refineries . . . .chemicals fly up, right in their lungs . . .and the pipelines they got to replace not long ago was a great victory, the damn rusted pipeline that crossed the ridge in between the the refineries valley and the harbor, . . .leeking its shit in the hearth, so much shit, that it appeared one day through the house floors, and even in the swimming pools of those who had one . .. black waters, swim in the shit . . .reparation?, yes, reparation! . . . houses sandwiched in between oil depots, the common condition of detritus, (more…)